Tag Archives: Beach

This is part of a series, where I take my little son with me on my travels to help him understand responsible and sustainable tourism, so that he grows up to be a responsible citizen who can help inspire others to also understand the importance of respecting nature and nurturing it. In this series, we explore the Andaman Islands as part of #ResponsibleTravelForKids series. Can travel be made more meaningful and enjoyable for kids? Lets explore and find out. Check out the previous parts at Part-0 , Part-1 , Part-2 , Part-3 ,Part-4 ,Part-5 , Part-6 , Part-7Part-8 , Part 9 and Part 10

No Snooze Required

Sleeping at 9 pm amidst the sound of nature usually means, you wake up refreshed when nature needs you to wake up. To add to this, I don’t stare at my mobile, when I wake up, since there are no mobile signals to invade my phone. It’s just a brick, that I don’t need to see, since there are beautiful sights to wake up to. It’s a very different feeling coming from the city to get accustomed to.

Today was our last day at Kalapathar Beach. We had formed a bond with the sea and the beach and it was going to be a little tough to not wake up to stunning scenery. We would leave by the evening private ferry to Port Blair and spend the night there, before boarding our air plane to Chennai the next afternoon.

It was as if nature had programmed me, that I almost sleepwalked over to the beach, through the little forest roads. The light had started to set in, though the sun was probably yet to rise (which I would find out later).

Sunrise at Kalapathar Beach-Havelock Islands(India)

Getting Philosophical staring at Sunrises at Kalapathar

The one remarkable thing that I got about the sunrise, was that it rarely defines itself to be a function of the previous day’s sunset. The sunrise and sunset are independent events, and that’s probably the little lesson I take back this morning, starting at yet another golden light formation in the waters that stretch to the make-believe horizon.

Also another thought that crossed my mind was that sunrises are not yet commoditized like religion [Pay per view or pay for faster line], in the sense that it is for everyone, and it is for us mortals to make best use of the time between the 2 golden hours in the day. Nature does not differentiate and gives the same feeling to every soul, irrespective of the financial worth of the person.

Sunrise at Kalapathar Beach-Havelock Islands [Andamans-India]Throwback to the 1990’s

I came back on the little jungle path to Parvati’s petty shop for morning tea, after lounging on the wet yet fine morning sand on the beach. The sun was out, and I heard a little radio set playing ” Jaane Jigar Jaane Mann” belting out Kumar Sanu numbers one by one. It added to that virtual 1990’s feel about the place. There was no hurry for people to get where they were. People were smiling and ambled about slowly and with the radio music playing, I felt a strange sense of relaxation of a content world. I was in paradise this moment, but I was about to get out of it and it was a tough pill to swallow, just as Kumar Sanu gave way to Kishore Kumar on the radio.

A cyclist ambling down the road inside Kalapathar Village

A little while later, I walked down to the beach with Nandu, and I saw the most beautiful colours of the sea. Kalapathar beach has magic in it and somewhere within it is an ‘Asian Paints Blue shade card’ that keeps changing.

Quite the perfect place to send out some emails and follow ups that would eventually be sent when I am able to get connected to a 4G/Wifi connection back on the mainland, but I could get used to working with such a view.

Nandu sat next to me with his usual drill of reading books by the sea, just like the previous day.

We spotted a fisherman in a perfectly coloured blue sea, by the Kalapathar Beach. The sea creates a sort of longing that makes you make ‘one final dunk’ where you think you will end up being part of that blue, and take it back with you. It’s thankfully enough we take back memories, only to come back again.

There was a little moment when the laptop was reflecting the sea behind, and I sensed that we really dont need a screensaver on a laptop. It was a surreal moment for me, trying to capture it.

I checked out from the hotel, and bade goodbye to the hotel staff, who were part of my life for the last couple of days. I could stay back here for a day, but the hotel staff and Kumar-my driver from the first day in Port Blair, advised me to come to Port Blair a day in advance, since the sea can turn grumpy and its always good to have buffer.

Between Port Blair to Havelock, there are 2 private ferries (Green Ocean and Makruzz) and 1 Government Ferry. The private ferries have online advanced booking, while the booking window for the government ferry is 3-4 days in advance. You would need a local/agent to book the government ferry for you.

There are daily flights to Port Blair from Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Chennai. Carriers that service Port Blair include, Jet Airways, Air India, SpiceJet and GoAir. Round-trip fares vary in price depending on how early you book. It usually costs a minimum of about 11,000 INR return from Chennai. A 15kg check-in luggage limit exists for most air-planes.

The Beach’ was a Danny Boyle movie based on a novel by Alex Garland set in the late 90’s in Thailand around discovering a secret beach. They follow a trail on Thailand’s south east coast along the gulf of Thailand.Seeking the same backpacker spirit of enquiry and awe for people and nature, we are trying to explore that trail to inspire people to take this journey through our tales and also the iconic movie ‘The Beach’. This is the third post in the series. Click here for Part-0, Part-1, Part-2, and Part-4

After our adventures the previous day, we discovered we had a lot of fuel still left in our bikes, so we decided to drive a lot more on our next trip. We could go east or go extreme North. As we were choosing Abhi told us that he wanted to be closer to the waterfall trail, so that he could go for a quick dip, so we decided on 2 other beaches called Chaloklum and Mae Haad.

I preferred to play pillion to do all the filming and be ready to focus on places to capture/experience from the road and also be the one coordinating between Vikram over the directions. The 4G signals were very good in Thailand, so most of our communication would be over Whatsapp video calling, as we would frequently lose each other, blame it on having different interests in gazing at nature’s bounty every few kilometres.

2 wheelers for rental in Koh Phangan

As we made our way down the valley from Haad-Rin, we chanced upon a cafe on the hill, which had a beautiful view. The place, by itself had a greek feel to it, with white and blue paint, resembling Santorini, and having a few chairs for guests. The view of the sea changing colours as the day went by is quite an activity to occupy yourself. We had done that a couple of days back in Coco Huts, so we were itching to go back to the beaches, after the previous day was spent with waterfalls.

Viewpoint Cafe- True To its Name

We were back on the scenic highway, that had a few more miles to clock, post Paradise Waterfalls, and this highway was starting to look beautiful at a point, when we had the green canopy of the trees on either sides, and in the distance the sea emerged on the top. The wind hitting our hair, music in our ears made us part of a new world, to which we had just gained entry. This whole island of Koh Phangan, was famous only for the Full-Moon-Party, and there were so many sides to this beautiful island, if only people cared to explore beyond the ‘Songserm Buckets’. This scene reminded us of the famous yesteryear classic “Country Roads, Take Me Home”, where heaven was waiting for us at the end of the road, and our new home for the day was the beach life that was awaiting us at Chaloklum

Country Roads- Take Me Home

The heat during the day reduced, thanks to an involuntary gathering of some Cumulo-Nimbus clouds over the island, and the weather turned overcast and love was in the air, due to the cool winds. We decided to survey the place, after parking our bikes to wander around the bay. The only choices our brains had to make, was to go left or right. We went right, because it curved and something exciting looked like being around the corner.

Overcast Day at Chaloklum Bay

I hoped we will find some desolate beach, where I could be ‘ship wrecked’ for a couple of hours. The good thing which such stress free exploratory trips, is that fantasy can run wild, and that means that brain is all in order and corporate life has not had any adverse impact on it.

The Wide expanse of Chaloklum Bay

Once we were at Chaloklum bay, we looked around, and wanted to explore the right end of the beach. The beach was having a long curve, and we realised that we had a lot of distance to cover. Each of us ambled at our own pace, before we perched at a corner of the beach, which ended in a lagoon, which got deeper as you set your legs further with soft soil. Every time you took a step, inside the water, a fish would probably see an explosion of sand particles. I decided to lay on my back, with the water covering me till my neck, while I paddled about, feeling the sun on my watered back. It was a strange feeling of heat and cool at the same time. I wondered what next. Should I go to the other side? It was glowing in green from the afternoon heat, and since there was a port of sorts there (where you get the boats to Bottle Beach, which you could also go via a forest trek), we thought there would be too many people.

The Greens of Chaloklum Bay

We saw a tyre partially buried in sand, and saw a little paradise on the other side of the lagoon. Endless trees dotting the foothills of a little mountain, having a little patch of sand, not having any human settlement or commerce. It seemed like our ‘Robinson Crusoe’ moment at finding a patch of paradise, to spend an afternoon. The lagoon was deep, and could not be navigated by our limited knowledge of swimming. My friends, said they wanted to go back and maybe explore the other side. I could not quite resist the option of getting to the other side, but I had to do it safely. As Paulo Coelho says in the Alchemist-“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it” and so, I find a boat coming my way. Since the lagoon is not really far to cross over, the boat-man is confused, as to why I wanted to go over to the other side. He says there is nothing that side, and he wont come back. I would have to walk 5 kilometres through the hilly path down to the Chaloklum village. I say yes, looking at the oppurtunity to be ‘quasi-marooned’ for a while.

A tyre buried in the sand at Chaloklum-Koh Phangan

A minute later, I find myself on the other side of the lagoon. My friends wave away, and one heads for the Paradise waterfall, while the other just wants lunch somewhere by the sea. I go and find myself on a remote part of the bay, and enjoy my silence. I lay on the water as, small waves come and go in a rythmic motion, lulling me into a peaceful mid-day siesta with my head in water. For a good part of the next 45 minutes, I was in a blissful sense of peace, closing my eyes, and while head got gently massaged by the movement of waters in a rythm. I wake up after, closing my eyes for a long time, and look at the beautiful blue skies, and its a wonderful feeling of happiness as you transition from a dark background to a bluish sky. It’s a kind of a visual orgamic high that lasts for a few fleeting seconds, and its gone, as your eyes adjust to the new light.It is a working day in India, and I chose to send this photo to my friends who are at work, right after lunch. I am reasonably succesful in transmitting ‘Vitamin-J’ to the rest of the world, connected virtually on Whatsapp (Note- 4G in Thailand is present in the remotest parts of the country),

Shaking a leg to the sound of water’s music

I woke up, and trudge through the forest to find a lady and her son, who are there in a car to meet a therapist. They are done with their work, and they were heading back, so I manage to get a lift uptil the local 7/11 store, from where I hop over to the local food store, where I gorge quickly on a bowl of Pad Thai, waiting for Vikram to turn up, while a mellifluos tune from an old lady singing a Thai tune catches my ears.

I hop over to the next beach on our 2 wheeler, and go there to catch a beautiful sunset. The sunset always works like an agony aunt of sorts, as there is something in the orangish sky and sea changing colours to blue over a sunset, as the stillness of the sea, makes me ask the questions to myself, that usually get lost in the hum-drum of daily life. A sunset makes me notionally wiser, as long as I can jot down what my mind tells me.

A beautiful sunset at Mae Haad-Koh Ma (Koh Phangan)

Post the sunset, we were heading to the full moon party, back near our hostel. To know how our day went and our time at the Full Moon Party, do catch the documentary which traces what we did in detail between the photos. Here’s- Part 3 of our documentary

G E T T I N G T H E R E

Look out for cheap flights to Bangkok which starts at about 10,000 INR from Chennai to Bangkok. From Bangkok you could directly fly to Koh Samui through Bangkok Airways, but since its a private airport, fares are usually high. You could alternatively fly to Surat Thani from Bangkok, which has direct connections from the airport to the pier and to Koh Phangan/Ko Samui.You could take the train from Bangkok (Hualamphong Station) to Chumphon or Surat Thani, and head to the respective piers in those cities to catch a ferry to Koh Phangan . Alternatively you could fly to Bangkok, and book a Lomprayah Bus + Ferry ticket directly from Bangkok to Koh Phangan

Chilling has become synonymous with Goa over the years. So, I pick Agonda, a beach destination in Goa this winter to catch up on some peace, and work on some of my assignments in my swimming trunks from a beach view with a milkshake in hand. Sounds like a plan? Here’s Part 2 of “Chilling in Agonda”

I happened to find out through Facebook-Nearby that a couple of my friends, were nearby. I chatted with them, and invited them to come over. What followed was a raucous dinner replete with tales from a converted local (Rahul), who runs a shack at Divine Guest House. Rahul-The shack manager was from Delhi, and was bored with his day job as a call center executive, and was enchanted by the coastline of Goa on a holiday, that he decided to stay back. He told us that he is looking to make 4X gains from his business of running a shack. He feels that though more tourists come to North Goa, there is higher competition between the hotels, so one doesn’t make as much money as in South Goa, where there are lesser tourists, but people who end up spending more. Rahul had spent 2 years at Palolem, and has just moved a beach above by moving to the peace of Agonda. I asked him what does he do for a break? He said there is no holiday for him. It’s 7-8 months of work, and then a 3 month holiday where he goes home and also plans his breaks. In Goa, when he gets time, he takes his 2-wheeler to explore smaller villages. One such place he told was about Cabo-De-Rama fort, which is usually deserted and so is the beach below. The local villages do not want any restorative work at Cabo-De-Rama fearing for tourist invasion of their privacy.

Rahul Rana of Divine Beach Resort in Agonda giving us some local stories

After a couple of hours of lounging on the beach bed, taking in the moon-light, just as I was about to tread back to my room at Jardim-A-Mar, I noticed a couple from Bangalore trying to enliven things at the beach, by floating a lantern in the sky. The yellow light against the dark sky provided a great visual.

I went over and told my friends who were staying across 2 different places, that we would need to get to the other end of the beach and ask for Dinesh. We would need to start at 5:45 am. Having slept at 12 midnight, I kept an alarm for 5:30 am, just to check if I had all of the right material required for the boat trip. I needed charged batteries for low light shots on my SLR Camera, and my beach bag of items. I started with my friends and we went in 2 batches, in order of laziness

The beach was yet to be kissed by the sun, so the twilight was ruling the roost, and with the right combination of White Balance, a beautiful sight played out as we walked to find Dinesh, the boatman.

Agonda Beach in Goa, as viewed from the Arabian Sea

I called Dinesh, Dinesh called me, and this cycle happened a few times. I would wave out, he would wave out, but we still didnt see each other. I pointed out to shack names, tree formations, rock formations and still I could not spot him. But after a painful 15 minutes of searching, we spotted each other. We got into the boat, and settled into our positions as indicated. Dinesh was fuming. We started off on a bad note. The agreed 800 Rs for the boat was now 1600 Rs, and Dinesh said that we had delayed him, and he had an another appointment at 7:30 am, so he said he would shorten our trip. The morning was precious, and I let go of the bad vibes by focussing on the boat and the expanse of the Arabian Sea.

Aye Aye Captain- We sail to Sea. Agonda Beach in Goa

The sea had a few boats around, I could see layers of plastic floating in the sea. It pains to see educated people dump plastic into the sea. Why on earth would they even bring a disposable plastic on a boat. Like the Christina Aguilera number “I am in a genie in a Bottle”, I hoped a genie would come and clean all the plastic and make Goa beautiful all over again.

I am a genie in a bottle baby-Arabian Sea between Agonda and Palolem beach

The main agenda was to go slowly in the waters to see if the dolphins came out for some fresh air and jumped in front of us. The more our boatman tried searching, they would get scared of us, and go away in another direction. But we did spot a couple of them. I thought it would be fun, if one could follow the dolphins, if I had a drone. That would not disturb them, and we could also get good footage of Dolphins.

Dolphin Spotting near Butterfly Island in Goa

The sun was shining in all its glory, and I was seeing how the wooden rudders sleekly cut through the waters, against the golden haze of the sun, so as to smoothly take on the might on the sea, scything like knife on butter.

And the Boat Sails on-Agonda to Butterfly Island

Our first stop was Honeymoon Island. I was told couples could get off here and spend some time in privacy. But I would not recommend this place so much based on an outside visit, since there are so many boats that come here and the water tide is also high. Maybe I should try spending a day here to see if the disturbance is actually as high as I imagine, but it certainly is no Robinson Crusoe type island. I have earlier seen such facilities offered in Lakshadweep, where couples are taken to an island with packed lunch and are picked up in the evening. It makes it beautiful in Lakshadweep because of the peace in the islands, and also because of the regulated tourist traffic. Honeymoon Island- Add to Wishlist

Part-3 ends here, and in Part 4, we shall see Butterfly Island, Turtle Rocks and the route back to Agonda.

There is always a sense of excitement when a trip is planned to North Goa, that never seems to die down with time. Goa to me means a melange of experiences across every village. In North Goa, over time, I have learnt to avoid Calangute and Baga, and seek greener pastures to discovering the Konkan Coastline that houses Goa. I have developed a sense of awe and peace for the northern most part of North Goa, and this photo story exactly talks about a few vignettes of North Goa, that your friends did not tell you about.

G O A

That place, which required a passport before the 1960’s to enter! *

That place, which feels like a trip to a paradise, without using a passport

That place that Lonely Planet said ‘Indians visit to escape India’

Usually when people say that the best place to visit in Goa is ‘North Goa’, what they really mean is that stretch between Candolim and Baga, with Calangute sandwiching it. Goa is best explored a little further north of Goa post the Siolim Bridge, if you are driving down, and post Thivim station if you are travelling on Indian Railways.

Hat Tip- Travel on Indian Railways. Its cheaper, quicker and more exciting to travel from the South all the way to the north. This would be from Loliem/Cancona from the South to Pernem in the north.

If you did the road, the first point of call is the Morjim-Aswem-Mandrem stretch.This stretch of the beach has a few rocks by the beaches, but is extremely safe for swimming, as there are very moderate currents. The villages in this stretch are extremely scenic, and are often meant for postcards to be sent on Facebook back to your friends. If you want a secluded stretch with privacy, pick the huts at Otter Creek. I havent stayed there but I find it alluring to shed some currency on my card to reserve my stay there. The travel version of ruminating over an “Add to Wishlist”

If you head further north to the extreme, you will come across a colourful hotel, that stays on a little hill overlooking the Arabian Sea. You need to get off the jetty at Kerim, and take the ferry to Tiracol village (named that way as the Terekhol river over looks it). The goverment ferry takes passengers free and charges for the vehicles, while the private ferry is smaller and quicker but charges quite a hefty sum. It is so peaceful trying to go on the ferry and floating slowly on the water. That is so ‘sussegado’, feeling the sun on your face, and taking in the pretty sights of the palm trees dotting on Kerim Beach.

Once you reach the other side, you need to walk up a couple of kilometres or take an auto rikshaw up the hillock to reach the place. This is a heritage hotel called ‘Fort Tiracol’, and has 7 rooms, each named after a day of the week. A review on Trip Advisor says ‘Friday’ is the best room. If you are already staying elsewhere, you can always go there for the view and come back feeling energised. Walk up to the lounge on the terrace and sit there and soak up the views!

This is the view of the Arabian sea, meeting the Terekhol River by the side of the Kerim Beach. I remember staying on Kerim beach in 2009. It is one of the quiet beaches in Goa, and I hope it has stayed that way. The mountains shown in the picture usually have paragliders jumping off to fly over this valley. The other side of the mountain has the Sweet lake beach and the main town of Arambol Beach. If you trek from Kerim, Arambol is 4 kilometres and a scenic 45 minute trek, and if you chose to flash your motored vehicle, its a steep 19 kilometres through scenic forests.

When you come over to the other side to Arambol beach, you have just landed on a paradise, that is crowded but presents a beautiful experience to the eclectic traveller. Workshops, Music, Yoga and a serene beach. This is my favourite beach in Goa. Arambol to me represents a state of the mind, and is so different from the rest of the beaches, even though its very far away. This photo was taken from a hut right at the entrance of Arambol beach through the sloping market road in a place called 21 Coconuts inn meant for backpackers.

Between Arambol and Kerim, if you trek the jungles, you will find a plateau which houses a couple of meditation communities called the Banyan and Mango Tree. You will also find a bunch of people enjoying the privacy by smoking marijuana.I had trekked once at 6 am to capture shots of the early morning sunrise, and I found this person smoking up at sunrise. I usually stay away from smokers, since I am allergic to cigarette smoke, but I saw lovely ambient light on this person, so I decided to brave it and take his shot. He saw that I was going on taking photos after requesting for him, so he decided that I should end up giving a ‘Dakshina’. One Laptop please he said, and I could not even ask him “Dude, What are you smoking”?

As I proceeded down back to the beach, I saw a shack owner who had come to brush his teeth amidst nature. How privileged ae those who get to brush or bathe amidst nature like this. I loved it back in 1997 and 2004, when I was doing this daily on long treks in Himachal Pradesh. As I soak in that feeling, I am thinking when should I plan my next trip to this side of the world.

Covelong near Chennai, is home to the annual 3 day beach fest with Surfing, Music and Yoga as the main attractions by the beach. Usually the 3 day festival happens in August or September. To know more about the festival and latest dates click here. Go further to read what happened in 2016’s edition of the Covelong Surf Festival

The real beauty of a music festival by the beach is not as much about the music, as much as it is about the vibes that evening. Its about a crowd that wants to jive about, its about a musician who wants to get the crowd involved, even if they don’t understand the music.

Usually the Covelong music festival has an acoustic stage and a beach stage through the day, but its the night that takes centre stage. The colours, the scent of the salted sea, the colours of the locals and fireworks, and yes the Bass thundering its away besides the raging waves makes for 3 evenings of high octane raving over music. I didn’t quite understand the music, but shaking a leg and feeling lighter is probably the key, as I would discover.

Fuzzculture’s Arsh was engaging with the audience really well. He looked like the singer KK when seen from behind with long hair, and a guitar round his shoulder.

He had quite an aura emanating, when the smoke from the stage were seen in the background of the lights. The independent music scene and the musicians surely had me think, that I should probably move beyond bollywood and popular music.

The crowd genuinely seemed to be interested in listeing to the musician and it was nice to see the local fisherman also getting involved trying to sample the music.

The front stage is not where all the action happens. I briefly went behind and saw the stage from behind, and it looked like the cover of a music band, with all colours of the spectrum lit against the dark of the twilight playing into darkness’s hands.

The local flavour at the beach near Chennai was the corn seller selling corn. It was not overpriced like a lot of commericalised corn. I took some corn, rested on the sands, looked at the moon in the distance, its reflection on the sea and thanked providence for providing a beautiful experience of music by the Bay of Bengal. I would come back tommorow for the surfing. Till then, it was time to get to Mahabalipuram and go and catch the highlights of the India-West Indies T20 games being played then in Florida.

Corn seller at the beach, during the Covelong Surf Festival

I came back the next day to watch some surfs and was spellbound by the magic they created in traversing the sea with their artistry

Surfing on the East Coast of India- Covelong Surf FestivalSurfing on the East Coast of India- Covelong Surf FestivalSurfing on the East Coast of India- Covelong Surf FestivalSurfing on the East Coast of India- Covelong Surf Festival

This edition of the Travel Postcards features a little village, by the northernmost beach in Goa. That little village that no one told you about. That little village, that is nestled in the middle of nowhere, like a bermuda triangle between the intersection of the Arabian Sea, The Terekhol river, and a little sleepy village.

“This series, called the Travel Postcards are basically the short story version of a single frame. Some tales are told between 2 sips of your juice. These are those tales. Not too long, Not too short, a little context, a little perspective and yes, they do act as a pill, that you can pop up for some travel inspiration”

It has an ancient fort (Fort Tiracol), which is now converted into a luxury hotel. Once you get to the Hotel, you will come across the rooms, which are named after each day of the week, and when you get to the eating area, you will have a beautiful view of Kerim Village by the palm trees and the beautiful curves of the Kerim beach. Even if you cant stay here, you can hop over on the free ferry from Kerim, to the Terekhol side, and walk up to the fort on an ascent. You could also chose to go via an auto, but that kills the charm of such a beautiful place. Get there at a Leisure walk, until the bright orange of the fort welcomes you.

Terekhol Fort in Goa

You would be drive through this palm tree laden path to arrive at Kerim’s jetty. Its a scenic drive from Arambol Village or Pernem Railway station to come here to cross over to the other side. Kerim is away from the noise of Punjabi music blaring, away from noisy tourists and most importantly far away from any kind of populist ride like the Banana boat rides or water scooters. It makes the beach and the village a lesser attraction, but that’s where the charm of Kerim lies. Away from it all, so that you discover yourself and the that 3 letter word called G O A.

Palm Trees lining Kerim Village

To know more about this place, keep visiting this space for a longer piece on Fort Tiracol. Till then, spread the love and let the travellers know about Terekhol. It doesnt cost much!

This edition features a beautiful little hippie village near the extreme north end of Goa called the Arambol Sweet Lake Beach (Kalacha). This featured prominently in the beginning and end scenes of the 2011 Bollywood flick titled “Dum Maro Dum”

“This series, called the Travel Postcards are basically the short story version of a single frame. Some tales are told between 2 sips of your juice. These are those tales. Not too long, Not too short, a little context, a little perspective and yes, they do act as a pill, that you can pop up for some travel inspiration”

Camping in Goa (Arambol Sweet Lake)

This photo was taken at 10 in the night at this beach in Goa, called Arambol. The beach is sandwiched between a Sweet Water Lake, Mountains and the Sea. Telephone signals havent made it here, and nor have hotels. So it means, there are patches of Goa, that still have a pristine rustic look, and out of bounds for tourists. Arambol-Sweet Lake beach, or the Kalacha Beach is a beautiful beach that you could look forward to camp at in the night without any interference. You do have a few basic shacks that go upto INR 1000 a night during high season, and upto 200-300 a night in the normal season. This beach is best avoided in the off season, as its off the traveller circuit, as everything here is normally empty in the monsoons. Couple of fun things to do on this beach, and that will come shortly on a post that will be hyperlinked from here. For now tata!

My hands are for some reason, not very comfortable to type. I am sitting by the side of the big rocks that adorn the extreme end of the beach. My hands are having minute layers of sand on them, which for some reason are not going off. I wash off the sand with water, and then use my towel, which, I later figure is dirtier than my hand. I turn to my shorts, and its setting the barometer for sand higher than the towel. My hands are still muddy. I give up the phone, and take a look at the scenery that surrounds me.

Tented at Arambol

My tent stares at me from a distance, as I have been away from it. Its pretty warm out here, and for some reason, I haven’t been getting any wind my side. I decided to go a little further between the rocks, as it gave me some shade.

There’s a helper who is ferrying food and beer to travellers laying out at the beach beds at the other end of the beach. There are travellers running on top of the hill and jumping off it, only to paraglide over the beach.

I decide to try the second option, and walk over to Mohinder, who’s been at it for most part of the day, flying guests over the Arambol landscape. He says 1200, and after some bargaining, helping him find more people, we settle at 1000 per trip. I am escorted up a hill, and I am asked to wear the flying equipment, tying the ropes to my body. I will have Mohinder behind me, who will do the manouevering for directions, while I play passenger. Ok, run to the count of 3, he says. I don’t believe the parachute will take off. I actually don’t. I run half heartily on the cliff and Mohinder asks me to jump, with a little bit of the runway still preserved. My legs are in the air, slightly above the rocks and in 2 seconds, I was over the cliff and flying in the air. That moment was surreal. I was flying and gaining some ascent, and saw the world from above.

The ocean was endless and it just showed how visually powerful is a body with no ends. The Arabian sea on one side, the green hills on the other, A beautiful beach below, and it felt so relaxing staring at this scenery. The scenery was accompanied by pin drop silence. I was paragliding into the sunset and moon rise, and I spent those 15-20 minutes up in the air when the sun and moon exchange duties and take over.

It also made me briefly feel immortal. Its not a bad thing to feel, when in Goa.

Until, I was brought down to earth. The warmth I had on me, from the evening sun, was a very different and comfortable feeling that was handed down. I had one of the most memorable and tranquil experiences, experiencing silence on the top.

My pilot (Mohinder) ensured that I got off with a minimal thud, when we land. I was exuding with warmth when I got down to soak in another view in fading light.

I saw a young couple kissing passionetly on the beach. I wasn’t sure whether I could go and ask them, since that would ruin the moment. The moment was sublime, since the couple did not quite worry about who were around. They were basically creating their own world, with a scenic beach and just them in the scene. So much of passion as the twilight took over from the sun. Maybe finding love and warmth on a beach, should now be a life goal. Maybe!

This little series explores Sri Lanka through its beaches. A day out at the beach along the Dehivala-Galle line shows up some beautiful sights. Join in me in my experiences in Sri Lanka

The day so far in Colombo, had been very relaxed on Poya day by the beach. I wandered by the railway tracks to find some place to eat. I realised I was in the lovers zone, and was invading the privacy of hormones on display, every step I took. If you landed here directly, do check out Part-1 and Part 2 of this series, and then read on.

Love is in the air!

The beach had lovers, The area by the boats had lovers, the trees near the railway tracks had lovers, and the railway tracks also had couples. Talk about dinning it in on a solo trip, that you don’t have a partner around! I waded through all the romance, and found a place to have some fried rice, and went back to the beach at Mount Lavinia, lying on the beach, and letting the waters wash me of my ego, pride and prejudice, and enjoyed the sunset before returning home, a wiser man, after a day of silence and spending time observing myself.

Couples in Colombo romance by the railway track

Couples romancing in Colombo by the Sea

The next Sanath? Sanga? Tharanga? Ranatunga?

I always remember Sri Lanka, as the land of left handers. From the times of Arjuna Ranatunga, Sanath Jayasuriya (or his clone Kusal Perera), Sanga or Tharanga, Sri Lanka has always managed to produce a line of south paws who make cricket very interesting with their batting.

This little series explores Sri Lanka through its beaches. A day out at the beach along the Dehivala-Galle line shows up some beautiful sights. Join in me in my experiences in Sri Lanka

I observed the boys playing cricket and it was beautiful observing the kids playing by the sea. Every now and them, their shots had an audience in a moving train full of passengers. This was the rail from Galle to Colombo, steaming in to the city, at the outskirts of Colombo (Dehiwala)

I found some grass to rest myself and spare myself from the searing sun. Beyond the grasslands, I found a structure that was closed and had no one, so I went ahead and rested by the pillars watching the Lankan shirtless kids sweat it out by the sea.

Behind me, there were a few boats on which the couples started to converge. Some on the boat, some behind it and they seemed to enjoy the anonymity of the Poya day. The whole city had shut down, and they were left to themselves to spend some intimate moments under the umbrella, while the cricket continued with little audience interest. Pretty much like how ‘Test Cricket’ at grounds, run in most parts of the world on week days!

Post mid-day, I had grown bored of watching the kids play and miss at the cricket, watching couples explore each other and watching the sea that was threatening to come inland and disturb the 2 games going on at the beach. The cricket and the love continued unabated.

I said good bye to the boys, the grasslands and from a distance, saw the another set of couples spending time with each other, before I retired to the main road of Mount Laviniya. I had travelled about 3 kilometres on beach since morning and had documented almost every thing that happened on the beach the whole day, after I had started out from my hostel(Adikaram Sea View Hostel)

But the stray coconuts probably watch things unfolding on the beach better than me. The coconut probably knows all of the gossips happening between people and objects by the sea. There’s infact an interesting blog in French Polynesia by that name, called Coconut Radio which says that “In French Polynesia when gossip is passed along from person to person we call it the coconut radio”. I had just played the Coconut Radio for Sri Lanka on Poya Day. I enjoyed it in silence, when I reminisced the day that just happened.

How often do you dream of seeing an azure blue sea, as you travel beside it? I loved the thrills of being on the Galle-Colombo railway line in Sri Lanka, right beside the Indian Ocean. It was surreal and scary at the same time. It looked like the train was travelling on the ocean, since the height of the train window above the sea, was not so high. In India, I have been to Rameswaram, where the drive into Mandapam over the Pamban rail bridge is equally surreal but the height gives it away. The feeling is not quite the same as the train in Sri Lanka.

The closest, I have been to seeing something at a similar level, though with very little water was on the rail line from Madgaon to Vasco in India, as the train nestles through Majorda, there emerges a little patch of beach, by which the lower tides of the Arabian Sea surface up near the railway line.

Is there any railway line that you have seen lately, that you would like to share? Do let me know.

This little series explores Sri Lanka through its beaches. A day out at the beach along the Dehivala-Galle line shows up some beautiful sights. Join in me in my experiences in Sri Lanka

Seize The Day

I woke up very pleasantly, with the chill morning breeze which waded through my windows. It was a happy kind of a feeling, considering the fact that I was forced to remove my shirt a few hours back, on account of sweating in the night in my hostel room. The fact that sweating of the night had given way to a breezy day, felt nice. There were subliminal signals given to the brain to go and wake up and seize the day. ‘SEIZE THE DAY’- or so I thought, until my host at the Adikaram Sea View hostel told me that it was Poya day and I should not expect to find any shops open in Colombo. I quicky had the last pieces of milk bread in the fridge, by firing them up in the toaster. Some Bread, Butter and Jam later, I found myself running across the little lane from the hostel to the beach. It felt like a bolt of freedom crashing against the waves of the Indian Ocean, a welcome respite from the fan cooled 300 INR a night hostel room.

The morning walk by the sea, showed me the beautiful Colombo skyline , which was near empty, as whole of the city was observing Poya day. One day of the month (Full Moon day). The locals visit temples, avoid meat and alcohol and businesses and banks are closed. So I decided to walk to the other side of the beach.

I saw a bottle kept upside down right into the beach. I marked my spot and kept my spectacles near it, to go into the sea and feel the waves. After lounging for a while in the waters in my near myopic blinded state, I came out and saw a bunch of kids, using the bottle as a stump at the bowlers end. My spectacles lay buried in the footmarks that the bowlers had created.

They had quite a bit of southpaws trying to clobber balls into the ocean. Deep Midwicket usually between 2 waves and more often than not could not quite go after balls that came his way. The stumps on both the ends were just objects put into the mud. The Lankans were playing Cricket the Carribean way. Shirtless and full tosses by the sea.

Then I saw order restored. I finally saw a right hander coming into bat. Kalu and Sanath maybe! Or maybe I was old, trying to come with Kalu and Sanath, in the times of Mahela, Sanga and Dilshan. After a while, staying at the beach, between the oscillating rain and bright sun, made me search for a place I could sit and watch the beach cricket from.

Given its a beach, the most natural protection from the weather was behind the bushes. I found one amidst the greens and settled there. The bushes were at the far end of the beach and were closer to the village that was separated by the railway track that led to Dehiwala station and Mount Lavinia. This is the same railway line that connects Colombo to Galle, with amazing vistas of the sea right by the railway track.

4 months agoby katchutravelsSleep or rest is always accentuated by predictable motion or gentle sounds whose vibrations have a secret connect with our inner senses. If you put in an 'easychair' on the sea coast and stretch your legs, the constant rocking motion of the gentle waves and its sounds put your mind and body to rest. If you are afraid that the moment shall pass too quickly, then put trust in Newton's laws of motion. 'An Object shall stay in its state of rest unless acted upon by an external force'. I put myself at rest, watching another glorious sunset colour the…

4 months agoby katchutravelsA young child plays with his mother in the lower reaches of a waterfall during a sunset. The child is glowing and enjoying the experience of playing in water as the sun's rays permeate through the forests into a thin golden strand, which makes it a lit up quiet zone with just the 2 of them. Its a magical world of changing colours as the sun prepares to show down and burst out, while coloring the greens to yellow. This was done as part of the trail celebrating 20 years of 'The Beach'( which was also made as a movie…

4 months agoby katchutravelsIt does happen at times that when the world dissapears and there are no thoughts, the mind experiences bliss. When the world appears it experiences suffering. One way out of such a structure is to keep yourself perched at a place like this. No telecom signals anyway and your objects of enjoyment are the tree's shade, the swing and the waters in the Gulf of Thailand to cool off. Simple unadulterated pleasures of life to be found aftwr travelling a few thousand miles from home base. *************** This was part of a photo and video series called #TheBeachTrail2017 which is…

4 months agoby katchutravelsWould you ever spend your money to go to a beautiful place to go there and read a book? I ask myself this question when I am in the city and doing the jaunt of the traffic filled commute. I find it strange that some one would do that. But when i am on travel, and I ask myself the same question, I mostly answer yes. At that moment, norhing more is important than creating more feel good moments to fill your life with. I encountered one such moment like that on our #TheBeachTrail2017 and stopped at a place called…

4 months agoby katchutravelsAs the ferry set sail from Chumphon, I encountered a Thai woman, adorned in a colourful skirt come and sit in the seat opposite us. She had 2 friends along with her. We were just about settling into our Thailand trip after a 3 am landing and a 6 hour sleepy bus ride to Chumphon. Our senses were still numb and we masked it by staring at the sea endlessly. I am guessing most of the upper deck members too were on a sleepy bus journey to Chumphon, so they too were slowly opening up. The colourful Thai lady came…

4 months agoby katchutravelsWhen you are in the midst of nature, you dont need a watch. Does 11:37 am even matter to you? We used to wake up at about 8, and finish our brunch by 11 am and be out on the road and beaches exploring the place. The good thing about this is nature would tell us when to eat, when to roam and we realised that our body and nature work perfectly in sync. It really doesnt need a clock but if you still need one, you could use green leaves against the bluish shades of the sky and sea.…

4 months agoby katchutravelsThere is a certain pulse which gets activated when you see such sights on a highway road. Trees flanking the highway, which slants and curves with clouds selectively choosing to which areas of the highway to dim and light up. Then there is a sea at the background which is like your pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The pulse that gets activated generates the adrenaline rush that has a direct impact on the accelarator even if its for a few seconds to feel the rush. That moment's high is why we travel because the moment is…

4 months agoby katchutravelsAs the evening sun shone in its might and splendor, a father asked his daughter to pack up and head back to the plains. The father picked up his mat, which lay beside the gentle stream that led to the waterfall. He clutched the mat by his left hand and had a look at his cigarette which too, was like the evening sun-about to burn out. He gave it one final series of puffs and exhaled it into the forest creating a surreal imagery of smoke floating in the shade caused by the twigs that permeated light through the forest.…

4 months agoby katchutravels"The only downer is, everyone's got the same idea. We all travel thousands of miles just to watch TV and check in to somewhere with all the comforts of home, and you gotta ask yourself, what is the point of that?" Immortal lines from Alex Garland's 'The Beach'. This photo was taken at Haad Rin Beach where a bunch of travellers are ttying to pass through a rope of fire by bending and going below it. One of the liberating aspects of travel are the oppurtunities to be different people at different places and when the oppurtunity comes calling, its…

4 months agoby katchutravelsThis story was taken as part of #TheBeachTrail2017 on www.katchutravels.com **************************** Piers always have this fascinating feeling since it presents an open wide canvas in our largely constrained world within concrete jungles and matchboxes. The sea with its expanse also reminds you that ferries cant sail when yoh want it to, but only when the sea wants it. It stamps and tells that the biggest authority is nature and not a man made force, but it does so with mesemerising you with its beauty of a turquoise blue sea on a sunny day. We arrived at the pier remiscing sea…